Conclave live: Speculation grows over who will be named new Pope while cardinals gather for secret election
Cardinals from around the world have descended on Rome ahead of the secretive conclave to decide the next pope.
Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Filipino cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle are among the favourites to succeed Pope Francis ahead of the Papal Conclave, which begins on Wednesday.
In a process that has been virtually unchanged for 800 years, 133 cardinals will gather in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel to start multiple rounds of voting and discussion to select who among them could lead the Catholic Church.
The conclave comes after the funeral of Pope Francis, who was farewelled by hundreds of thousands of mourners in St Peter’s Square on April 26.
Pope Francis changed the Catholic Church during his 12-year papacy, taking a strong moral stance on climate change in and the plight of migrants and refugees.
He also increased the diversity of cardinals, who will now elect his successor. The question is whether they will chose someone to carry on Pope Francis’s legacy, or opt for a more traditional figure.
